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Thursday, July 2, 2015

Barcelona Part 2

After our quick getaway to Madrid, we were back in Barcelona for two more days. But, since our first day back was spent on the beach (and I do mean all day) most of my photos are from our last day.

Despite being on the water, Barcelona's main beach, Barceloneta, is man-made. But I'm not complaining- I'll take a beach day, any day.

Since our overnight bus dropped us in Barcelona so early, we figured we would head straight to the beach and start soaking up the sun before anyone else arrived.

Barceloneta, all to ourselves.

After lounging on the beach a little too long, we wandered back to our hostel, where we stumbled upon Gaudi's Casa Batlló. While we didn't go inside (you can see Amanda's tour here) we did stop to snap a few pics of the exterior.

Monday morning, we were up bright and early for our last day so that we could finally tour Park Güell. But first, we had to trek up....

Yes, those are escalators in place of sidewalks. I told you this place was rough...

Note the Catalan flag hanging on the building. During our entire three days in Barcelona, I did not once see a Spanish flag- I only ever saw Catalan flags. We didn't spot a Spanish flag until Madrid.

Catalonia, the province where Barcelona is located, has been fighting for independence from Spain for years. You can tell how fierce their national pride is- art and architecture are filled with Catalan symbols and the flag flies all across the city.

If I bored you with a little politics, here's the real attraction- the park. We arrived around 9 am and the clouds hadn't yet cleared, so the pictures aren't exactly Pinterest-worthy but you can still see how impressive the park is.

Usually you can see the beach and the ocean in the distance...

Trying to avoid the pigeons (even if it looks like I'm feeding them- believe me I never would).

We found this little guy in a sea of pigeons!

After the park, we headed up (literally, straight up) to Mount Tibidabo, where an amusement park sits atop the mountain. We thought there was a castle on top (you can see it from pretty much anywhere in Barcelona), but it's actually a cathedral.

A well-deserved dinner after our climb up the cathedral.

I loved Spain and would 100% visit again. I would love to explore more and see so many other, smaller cities. As a history nerd buff, Spain is a goldmine for exploring and learning about past empires. Until next time, Spain!

P.S. I hope everyone has a happy 4th of July!! I'm off to New York for the weekend and I hope y'all enjoy the holiday!